urbangirl:born_yesterday: FlashHarry: hilarious. they think that by simply "modifying the message" but not changing any of their policies they can win votes? do they really think the american public is that stupid?

wait, never mind.

They're synergizing a new paradigm.

+7.Would be better if you could somehow work in "facilitating" and/or "utilize".

They're syncretizing the paradigmazition of the facilitation for utilization and prioritizing of core competencies through strategic rebranding of synergistic market participation.

Weaver95:While not wavering from his conservative principles and desire to tame the record U.S. debt, Cantor expressed a new eagerness to help the needy in such areas as education, health care, immigration and moving up the economic ladder

I think he's lying. his mouth moved.

Sure.

Help the needy in education? Charter schools and vouchers.Help the needy in health care? Insurance across state lines, get rid of Obamacare.Help the needy in immigration? Allow businesses to hire immigrants at severely depressed wages.Help the needy in economic migration? Upper-income and corporate tax breaks.

It's a shame that Obama doesn't seem to define himself as being against Republican proposals. If he did, this would totally work to throw the Democratic plans in disarry. Instead, I fear that Obama may be earnestly trying to find solutions and will probably be open to bipartisan work on many of these directions.

hawcian:ltdanman44: The survey gave Republicans in Congress an approval rating of 24 percent, compared to a 37 percent rating for Democrats.

How many of you reading this would still have a job if 76% or even 63% percent of your customers disapproved of your product?

Well, if customers voted to decide who kept their jobs, I'd convince them that I will totally make the product better and it's those other idiots that are ruining it. Seems to work pretty well for Congress.

I'd convince them the factory machinery is the problem, and if we drown it in a bathtub, profits will skyrocket. It's those pesky no-goodniks that want to pay money to actually FIX the machines contribute to the problem. Vote Hubris.

Interesting. Because you see, when I said "Eric Cantor is a sniveling, lying, worthless piece of dog excrement that should be shoved face-first into an elephant's anus," what *I* meant was "Eric Cantor is a sniveling, lying, worthless piece of dog excrement that should be shoved face-first into an elephant's anus."

I don't understand how these Republican reformers think they can get back in the good graces of hispanics with this strategy. Sure, it's more progressive than yesterday, but they've done damage the their brand and their plans are still to the right of the democrats.

Imagine it like the Democrats are Oreos and Republicans are Newman-Os. You already like Oreos better, but Newman-Os are cheaper so they're okay every once in a while. Then suddenly and without warning, Newman-Os goes fat free and doesn't tell anyone. Suddenly they are unpalatable and by contrast Oreo's just taste that much better.

Now Newman-Os is going "Sorry about that, we're switching back to the old recipe" but there's no refund, there's no guarantee it won't happen again, and they still aren't as good as Oreos. I know I wouldn't switch back...

ltdanman44:The survey gave Republicans in Congress an approval rating of 24 percent, compared to a 37 percent rating for Democrats.

How many of you reading this would still have a job if 76% or even 63% percent of your customers disapproved of your product?

You are not the congresses' customer. You are your congressman's customer. While approval ratings for the congress as a whole are dismal, individual approval ratings for specific members are generally much higher.

FlashHarry:hilarious. they think that by simply "modifying the message" but not changing any of their policies they can win votes? do they really think the american public is that stupid?

wait, never mind.

In 2012 they managed the rather impressive feat of underestimating the intelligence of the American public, having found an upper bound of public gullibility they are making slight adjustments to their message. I have no doubt that a lot of folks will fall for it.

"Let's just start over" is a textbook approach for abusers. It's how you get back into the "Mr. Nice Guy" / "Honeymoon" phase of the circle of abuse. Once the victim trusts and lets the abuser back in, it's ok for a little while, but then the abuser can't help himself and goes right back to beating up women/gays/minorities/non-Christians.

SpectroBoy:Old School is how the GOP still thinks. Old school tells you that if you spin the message and tell them what they want to hear most of them will believe you. (enough to get elected)

The GOP still hasn't adapted to the internet age. When they talk BS to a small local crowd it goes national and they are busted. For many years they have been able to say different things to different crowds and it worked for them. Now they make ONE little 47% of people are moochers comment and everybody sees it immediately and for days.

If they want to survive they need to change tactics, not just work the old tactics harder.

/ Not holing my breath.

Thisis so right on the money... I think the important part is that they don't believe that information is free and everywhere. It used to be you could make a nice little speech with a wink and a nod and basically tell your audience anything they wanted to hear. Now, it doesnt matter who you are facing in that room because you are talking to the entire internet connected world with every syllable that leaves your mouth-and that fact seems to escape some politicians.

The other group are the ones who simply can not believe, under any circumstances, that people might disagree with the stuff they believe. These people are too stupid to be representing us and should be disqualified from public service.

Let's see what an advisor to Reagan and Bush I & Chairman of the RNC had to say about minority outreach...

Atwater: As to the whole Southern strategy that Harry S. Dent, Sr. and others put together in 1968, opposition to the Voting Rights Act would have been a central part of keeping the South. Now [the new Southern Strategy of Ronald Reagan] doesn't have to do that. All you have to do to keep the South is for Reagan to run in place on the issues he's campaigned on since 1964 and that's fiscal conservatism, balancing the budget, cut taxes, you know, the whole cluster.

Questioner: But the fact is, isn't it, that Reagan does get to the Wallace voter and to the racist side of the Wallace voter by doing away with legal services, by cutting down on food stamps?

Atwater: You start out in 1954 by saying, "N****r, n****r, n****r." By 1968 you can't say "n****r" - that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like forced busing, states' rights and all that stuff. You're getting so abstract now [that] you're talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you're talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is [that] blacks get hurt worse than whites. And subconsciously maybe that is part of it. I'm not saying that. But I'm saying that if it is getting that abstract, and that coded, that we are doing away with the racial problem one way or the other. You follow me - because obviously sitting around saying, "We want to cut this," is much more abstract than even the busing thing, and a hell of a lot more abstract than "N****r, n****r."

this is an obvious attempt to walk back the Randian style message they've been using to whip the angry base into a fury.

I have no doubt that what they're actually doing is repackaging the same old tax cuts/deregulation schtick with a bit less 'blame the poors' in the mix (only changing rhetoric not policy), but I have to wonder....how do they expect the angry base they've cultivated to react to this?

how do they expect the TPers to react to this kinder gentler BS machine?

/you can't create a militant vegetarian sect then offer hot dogs at the annual BBQ in an attempt to attract more people and expect to have a good time.

Rent Party:ltdanman44: The survey gave Republicans in Congress an approval rating of 24 percent, compared to a 37 percent rating for Democrats.

How many of you reading this would still have a job if 76% or even 63% percent of your customers disapproved of your product?

You are not the congresses' customer. You are your congressman's customer. While approval ratings for the congress as a whole are dismal, individual approval ratings for specific members are generally much higher.

This is a problem of "My guy is fine. Your guy is an asshole."

Speak for yourself, I despise my congressman.

/embarassment to Democrats everywhere (and I'm more Libertarian, which makes his social stances even less pallitable)//and human kind///Rep Mike McIntyre

Isitoveryet:AeAe: JesusJuice: GoldSpider: Weaver95: In fact, its possible that the Republicans have lost the next two generations of voters completely as a result of their asinine pro-rape and anti-middle class platforms.

You only said "rape" once.

Republicans are only pro-rape, they're against rape-rape.

They are also pro-rape-baby.

Here's a question: What if the rapist is an illegal? Doesn't that make the rape-baby an anchor-rape-baby? What's the Republican opinion on this?

AeAe:JesusJuice: GoldSpider: Weaver95: In fact, its possible that the Republicans have lost the next two generations of voters completely as a result of their asinine pro-rape and anti-middle class platforms.

You only said "rape" once.

Republicans are only pro-rape, they're against rape-rape.

They are also pro-rape-baby.

Here's a question: What if the rapist is an illegal? Doesn't that make the rape-baby an anchor-rape-baby? What's the Republican opinion on this?

Women have an electrified fence in their lady parts that keeps out illgegal rape sperm. Duh, everybody knows that.

Dr Dreidel:unexplained bacon: you can't create a militant vegetarian sect then offer hot dogs at the annual BBQ in an attempt to attract more people and expect to have a good time.

Apparently, you can - if the guy selling hot dogs is a rich person who wants to lower "your" taxes, your BBQ was overrun by the libs last year and it's held in a church parking lot.

// it's brand loyalty, but for politics

maybe, but I think the more the GOP professionals play this new angle (which rhetorically can sound like bleeding heart lib talk of the sort that makes TPers twitchy) the more the the TPers will cry foul. There's a split coming, I think, I wonder if the GOPe sees that as a foregone conclusion and is attempting to get ahead of the curve here.

Lenny_da_Hog:unexplained bacon: you can't create a militant vegetarian sect then offer hot dogs at the annual BBQ in an attempt to attract more people and expect to have a good time.

It's more like technology sales to people who have their grand-kids setting up their e-mail for them.

"You see, the best product is the iOS *plasma* Raspberry Pi Windows 8, now, because the LCD Linux will kernel the defragmenter! That Java Flash HTML Blackberry is a thing of the past!"

"Oooooo!"

"Would you like the extended warranty with that?"

"Ooooooo!"

many/most TPicans likely wont get the idea that his words are carefully crafted to grab voters outside the bubble and are in no way going to change the GOP policy goals, but that's the problem. They'll hear dirty lib talk and go apeshiat for apeshiat's sake.

"Over the next two years, the House (Republican) majority will pursue an agenda based on a shared vision of creating the conditions for health, happiness and prosperity for more Americans and their families," "It is my hope that I can stand before you in two years and report back that our side, as well as the president's, found within us the ability to set differences aside, to provide relief to so many millions of Americans who simply want their lives to work again,"